1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a compact cyclonic filter assembly used for separating unwanted debris from a fluid. The cyclonic filter assembly uses centrifugal forces to separate large pieces of debris from the fluid and a filter to separate the remaining unwanted debris from the fluid.
2. Description of Related Art
Cyclonic separators are commonly used for separating unwanted debris from fluids by using centrifugal force. The fluid is typically tangentially injected into the cyclonic separator such that a circular flow is set up. The centrifugal forces act on the heavier debris, forcing the debris toward the perimeter of the separation chamber. The substantially debris-free fluid near the center of the vortex is extracted and recirculated, while the debris is collected and discarded.
Some cyclonic filters are used in a component system in combination with a separate filter housing and a separate sludge receiver housing. These separate housings require a larger amount of piping and each require a separate filter basket and filter bag in order to operate correctly. These component systems require cleaning and changing of several housings and filter bags which increases down time and increases the amount of inventory needed to maintain the system in working order. These systems also take up a lot of valuable space.
Currently, there is a need for a compact filter assembly which uses centrifugal forces to separate large pieces of debris from a debris laden fluid and a filter element to separate the remaining unwanted debris from the fluid. The filter assembly should be capable of easily disassembling for cleaning and replacement of parts. Also, the filter assembly should use a single standard filter bag as both a filter element in the filtration chamber, and a debris collection bag in the collection chamber, therefore making the filter assembly inexpensive to maintain and easy to clean.
The following publications describe cyclonic separators that separate unwanted debris from fluids by extracting substantially debris-free fluid from the vortex and collecting and discarding the unwanted debris: U.S. Pat. No. 1,919,653, issued on Jul. 25, 1933, to Raymond A. Hill; U.S. Pat. No. 3,259,246, issued on Jul. 5, 1966, to Paul L. Stavenger; U.S. Pat. No. 3,285,422, issued on Nov. 15, 1966, to William R. Wiley; U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,825, issued on Dec. 15, 1981, to Claude C. Laval, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,650, issued on Aug. 25, 1987, to Asadollah Hayatdavoudi et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,641, issued on Jul. 19, 1994, to Ennio Cattani; U.S. Pat. No. 5,391,294, issued on Feb. 21, 1995, to Dominique Mercier. The above listed publications do not describe a compact filter assembly which uses centrifugal forces to separate large pieces of debris from a debris laden fluid and a filter element to separate the remaining unwanted debris from the fluid.
The following publications describe cyclonic separators that separate unwanted debris from fluids by extracting substantially debris-free fluid from the vortex and by further filtering the fluid using a filter element: U.S. Pat. No. 1,107,485, issued on Aug. 18, 1914, to Allen A. Bowser; U.S. Pat. No. 3,061,098, issued on Oct. 30, 1962, to Jerome P. Brezinski; U.S. Pat. No. 3,529,724, issued on Sep. 22, 1970, to L. Andrew Maciula et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,698,555, issued on Oct. 17, 1972, to John R. Conner; U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,465, issued on Nov. 3, 1981, to James R. Druffel; U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,759, issued on Sep. 1, 1987, to Zoltan A. Mandy; U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,484, issued on Dec. 26, 1995, to Peter G. Michaluk; United Kingdom Patent Application Number 885,535, published on Dec. 28, 1961; Austrian Patent Application Number 229,236, published on Aug. 26, 1963; Soviet Union Patent Application Number 631,217, published on Nov. 20, 1978.
None of the above listed publications describe a filter assembly capable of using a single standard filter bag as both a filter element in the filtration chamber and a debris collection bag in the collection chamber, therefore making the filter assembly inexpensive to maintain and easy to clean. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a cyclonic filter assembly solving the aforementioned problems is desired.